A red neoprene foot flew at Bai’s face. With no time to get out of the way, she tucked her arms against the side of her head like a boxer and relaxed the muscles in her legs. When the kick landed against the side of her head, she reeled to the ground and rolled with the force of the blow, letting the momentum carry her out of Lee’s reach.

“Shit!” she said, as she rolled back to her feet.

The blow had stung in spite of the neoprene pad on Lee’s foot.

“Hurts, I’ll bet,” he observed wryly.

She could see him smiling inside his sparring helmet. His smugness served as a goad.

He backed off a few paces to give her room as he scolded her. “You committed too soon. Just remember, ‘When testing the depths of a stream, don’t use both feet.’”

It was her “kamikaze” style of fighting Lee derided. She didn’t have the size or upper-body strength to trade punches with a man his size. She relied, instead, on speed and stealth. But, as usual, her impatience had turned out to be her downfall—literally. She’d telegraphed her intentions and given him time to counter her move.

“Keep smiling, Dorothy,” she said as she slapped her red sparring gloves together. “I’m about to smack you so hard you’ll fly back to Kansas without your ruby shoes.”

He opened his mouth to offer a reply. She rushed forward to feint by dropping her left and then her right shoulder before pivoting into a spin kick. He moved to the right in an attempt to block what he expected to be a left hook. Her spin kick landed on his left ear.

The impact didn’t fell him, but it knocked him off balance long enough for her to follow the impetus of her kick. She whipped around to duck inside his drooping guard and land a flurry of rabbit punches to his chest. Her foot swept his ankle as she elbowed his ribs to knock him off balance.

In a last-ditch effort, Lee hooked an arm around Bai’s neck. He took her down to the mat with him in an uncontrolled fall. She dropped down on top of him with her full weight. He grunted in pain.

Then, there was silence.

“That . . . was . . . really, really . . . smart,” she stated.

Her sarcastic comment was muffled by neoprene. Lee’s headlock had twisted her headgear around. She peeked out through an ear hole in the side of the soft helmet.

“Not one of my finer moments,” he agreed. “Sometimes my instincts just suck.”

He attempted to push her off him. “Are you getting heavier, or is it my imagination?”

She rolled to the mat to glare at him. “I might have gained a few pounds . . . mostly muscle.”

Her assertion was delivered with a challenging stare. He stared back. She could almost see the rejoinders running through his head.

“Say it and I’ll hurt you.”

“I was just about to compliment you on your amazing muscle tone. Not often one sees sinew of that caliber . . . nor magnitude. I think the word is ‘hefty,’” he appended dryly.

“You’re flirting with death.”

He smiled through his face guard. “Isn’t ‘hefty’ derived from the word ‘heifer’?”

She launched herself at him, pummeling him about the head and shoulders as he laughed.

When she grew tired from hitting him, she asked, “Have you had enough, or do I have to kick your butt some more?”

She removed her headgear by spinning it around to snag her nose on the Velcro fastener She rubbed her scraped nose while Lee laughed.

“I’ve had enough,” he finally admitted.

“Good. Elizabeth invited you for dinner.”

“That’s the best news you’ve delivered all day. As days go, this one’s been a stinky pile.”

Bai was quiet as she thought back over the day’s events. Her mind and stomach still churned in the aftermath of the trip to Oakland. She looked aside at Lee. “What do you think I should do about Jason?”

He pulled off his neoprene headgear to stare back at her with a serious expression. “What can you do? If you want to get Jia Yan back, you’re going to need his help.”

“The help he gave today will probably give me nightmares the rest of my life.”

It was Lee’s turn to be quiet. He stared at her with a look of discomfort. “Are you ready to talk about it?”

She sighed and tossed her headgear onto the mat. “I’m used to violence. I mean . . . it’s not like I haven’t been in fights all my life. But what happened in that basement shook me. I could maybe rationalize that those men preyed on young women. But the way Jason killed them . . .” She looked at Lee, meeting his gaze. “It was so casual, so easy.”

He dropped his eyes and busied himself by removing his sparring gloves. He shook his head slowly as he pulled the gloves off. “Not very sporting of him.” He looked up at Bai and produced a sad smile. “Sorry,” he added. “I really don’t have any consoling words. Given the situation, I might have done the same thing. Jason’s protecting you. He’s doing everything he can to make sure there isn’t a trail that leads back to you. I can see that. I can understand it.”

“I can see that, too,” she blurted, “but he doesn’t have to kill everybody I cross paths with.”

“Who’s to say the Wah Ching in the basement wouldn’t have come after you, Bai. From everything I’ve seen, they make stupidity its own reward. There’s nothing more dangerous than idiots with guns.”

The sound of running footsteps ended their discussion. Dan sprinted into the dojo and raced up to stand before Bai. “Mah Mah says to hurry! Daddy called and said he would pick you up in thirty minutes. Mah Mah says you’re supposed to pack a bag. Are you going somewhere?”

“It would seem so.” Bai stood to put her arm around her daughter. “Your father and I have to take a short trip. I’ve spoken with Mah Mah, and you’re going to be spending tomorrow with Lee.”

Dan looked to Lee for confirmation. He smiled wickedly.

His voice was exuberant. “We’re going shopping.”